Desert Island Discs – Happy 70th!

Today marks the 70th anniversary of BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, a wonderful programme that you really must check out, if you haven’t listened to it before.

For the uninitiated, here’s how the show functions: after a little bit of very languid music and seagull calls, the host speaks to that episode’s guest (a writer, politician, sports figure, actor or musician) and asks him or her to talk about eight recordings he or she has chosen to take along, if ever stranded on a desert island.

The guest’s life and career are discussed with those eight songs punctuating the talk. At the conclusion, the guests are also asked which one book and one luxury item they would like to bring.

Sometimes, when working late at office, I’ll go to the DID archives and select a recording, sometimes to great surprise and delight, especially for the little details about a person’s life that you may not have known before (for example, British actor Richard Briers is a cousin of Terry Thomas, or Hanif Kurieshi’s father was born in Madras).

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Comments

I was just listening to the Meera Syal recording this morning and am loving it. Simon Callow’s was equally charming, and warm, and funny (especially when you get to his luxury item at the end). It’s all quite a gold mine!

India & Ireland, film & more

In 2006, after almost 10 years of avid consumption of the latest Bombay releases, I decided to go on ek filmi safar that summer and see how many Hindi movies – the older ones, the newest ones, and repeats of some favorites – I could watch and review over the space of those 90 or so days of summer.

I’ve expanded the reach of this blog to include reference to Ireland’s many cultural contributions to the world, be it film or writing or music. My roots are there, and like most 2nd gen kids, I have a deep affection and curiosity for the ancestral homeland.

Comments, ideas, reminiscences about favorites, were then – and still are – all welcome and encouraged.